Barn Party! What a night.

Last night was quite the night!  The Indianapolis staff decided to have an all city barn party at a barn in Westfield.  Hayrides, bonfire, Young Life Club in a real barn with cows mooing all around us.  What a night!  Over 400 kids from Westfield, Carmel, Zville, North Central, Brebeuf and Noblesville joined us.

Carmel had some new that have never been to Young Life before-I talked to one of the girls afterwards and she said "I am definitely coming to club again!"  This is a kid that I have known for a while but has never wanted to come to YL.  Glad the barn party was an opportunity for her to come to see what YL is about and more importantly meet some leaders who will follow up with her.

Here is a story from Joe, YL staff in Westfield.

I have a quick kid story from last night. There's a kid that I bring to club every week to help me set up.  I met him through the counselors at the high school last year and have become really tight with him. He came to know Christ at camp this past summer and has taken baby steps in his faith. One of his struggles is that he lives in government housing, and the group of kids he's around are a bad influence on him. They kind of make fun of him for being a Christian, and I've told him that he should invite those kids to YL. But I think he's scared to. They think YL sounds lame....which let's be honest, sometimes when we try to explain it it kind of does sound lame. Anyway, last night he brought three of those friends with him to the barn party....and they were blown away. They all said, " I didn't expect YL to be like this!! That was awesome!" They are eager to get more connected with YL now and it was a good opportunity for me to be more of a part of this kids life by connecting with his friends.

The night started off with hayrides and a bonfire..here are some Carmel kids and leaders enjoying both.

We then moved to the upper part of the barn where we had Young Life Club complete with singing Kelly Clarkson, some run on characters (Corn and Cotton) who led us in games and line dancing.  We sang the traditional "Free Fallin" and "Light the Fire" to end the  club time!

And of course the night ended with a huge dance party-with some old and new songs!

The barn party created shared experiences with leaders and kids and created long lasting memories for them.  It also started a lot of buzz about Young Life all over Indianapolis!

Freedom to be you.

We have been doing a series for the past 3 weeks at campaigners about Freedom in Christ, finding our identity in Christ, and feeling free to be who God created you to be.

Last night, we did something we have never done at campaigners before called Cardboard testimonies...which is done at camp a lot.  You write on one side where you have been and on the other side how God has transformed you.
Sarah (one of our amazing student staff leaders) led this time tonight and it was deeply profound, moving and unbelievable for us to see how kids have been changed, how Christ is moving here and now.  We explained to them that transformation doesn't mean you are perfect now and have no problems, it means that God is moving in you and around you in the place you are (which doesn't mean you have it all figured out.)

Here are some pictures of what kids wrote-I am never again going to doubt how profound and articulate high school kids are!

II Corinthians 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ, the old is gone, the new has come!"

New Leaders!

Avery Volz is a new leader!  Avery is a sophomore at Butler University, from Chicago, IL.  She has jumped right in and is already committing so much time to kids...Below is a picture of Avery at club recently with another leader Tom.

Mark Spiegel is another new leader! Mark has been around Young Life for a long time and actually used to be a leader when he went to Butler...He was a Wilderness guide with Jake this summer and moved back to Carmel to do ministry.  We are glad to have him back! Mark is below on the right.

Catch Up: Club so far this year!

Here are some pictures from the past two clubs we have had-an unbelievable paint war and a Duct Tape themed party.  It doesn't get any better than that!

It seems like Club is just a chaotic place, that is a ton of fun.  This is true, but there is purpose behind everything we do.  So why do we do club?  We answered this question with our leaders at leadership just to be sure we were on the same page, remembering the theology behind what we do.  Here is what we came up with.

community-kids desire a place to fit in, feel welcomed, be who they are.

make kids the Spotlight-put them in the spotlight, make them feel special, get cheered for.  This is why we do upfront games where kids are cheered for..

walls are broken down-YL is relationships, kids in leaders lives, club gives us a place to have fun with them and build those relationships.

shared experiences-Leaders have fun with kids, share experiences together

presenting the gospel-A leader shares a message of who Jesus is at the end of club, all with the intent of reaching the "furthest out there" kid who doesn't have a relationship with Christ.

meeting new kids-we hope to meet new kids at the school, on their turf, which we do! But, club attracts all kids because it is a fun, exciting atmosphere

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